At least for the first half of 2013, the squad can be paid for through a combination of drawing from reserve funds, cutting the estimated start-up costs for the 30-member unit and anticipating revenue from confiscated property tied to drug arrests.

It’s a first step toward easing community crime fears re-awakened by the Oct. 3 Coastal Fairgrounds shooting that injured eight.

But it’s not a long-term fix, and city officials know it.

So they also are trying to calculate whether increased 2013 revenues could pay for the recurring annual costs for a drug unit, or whether, as a last resort, a 1-mill property tax increase must be approved.

For a taxpayer with a property valued at $105,000, the average home price this year, that would mean an increase to city taxes of $42 for the year, city officials say.

A taxpayer with a $225,000 home would pay $90 more a year.

As city officials run the numbers, they are debating conflicting factors: Is hiring more officers the answer, or should money and effort be directed toward programs that might prevent crime through intervention, education and job creation? How much of that burden should the city bear when the state and the school district also have roles to play?

Even if there were money available to pay for non-jail alternatives, how do you deal with repeat offenders who show no interest in leaving a life of crime?

Add another harsh truth: The state is moving forward with a Juvenile Justice Reform Bill that would further reduce requiring youth detention for offenders. They will be returned to parents or directed to local programs, which will cost less to operate than detention centers.

Concerns with existing procedures already are an issue, which local state legislators and City Council members discussed at a Tuesday briefing.

Mayor Pro Tem Van Johnson asked that two priorities be added to the delegation’s issues, including opposing the juvenile reform bill.

He also wants possession of a firearm by a minor designated as a felony offense. Currently, it is a misdemeanor.

Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, shares that concern and cited the example of a juvenile arrested for robbery.

“The maximum penalty is 60 days in a detention center,” he said. “That’s not a deterrent to stop stealing.”

“I’m going to go ahead as if council has approved (the positions),” he said. “In the event that they do, I want to be prepared. Drugs are a problem in this community. I feel very strongly that if we get rid of some of the drugs and the causes, we’ll have a much better city and county.”

Lovett didn’t want just 30 officers. In budget requests given to the city manager’s office, he and his command staff asked for 69 new positions, including more Juvenile officers and investigators.

The request seemed to stun City Council members and City Hall staffers alike, but it isn’t the first time a similar idea has been proposed.

That came after initiatives to put every available uniformed officer on the street, which was accomplished partly by turning some jobs held by officers into civilian positions.

In February 2007, a department analysis by the Police Executive Research Forum concluded that, in patrol alone, the department needed 62 officers to reach optimum levels.

With thinner patrol levels, officers were running from one radio call to the next, the PERF report stated. The Downtown, Central, West Chatham and Southside officers were averaging between 62 percent and 77 percent of their times on calls for service. It left them little time to work with residents on crime, violence and disorder problems at a neighborhood level.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police advises departments that officers should not spend more than 33 percent of their time on radio calls so they can have time for crime prevention and community relations.

The department had 606 uniformed positions in 2007, the same as current staffing.

That gives Savannah-Chatham County 2 officers per 1,000 population, based on 271,544 inhabitants.

Data compiled by the FBI shows Savannah metro is below national and regional averages.

In 2011, the national average was 2.7 officers per 1,000, and in the South, 2.5. In the South Atlantic region, however, staffing was 3.2 officers per 1,000 population.

Lovett and his majors have continued to stress that population estimates do not include the 12 million tourists in the city each year, which averages 61,095 per day.

“Whether we like it or not, they need (police) services, too,” Lovett said.

The Chief’s Association, in determining staffing, also considers factors such as age of population, density, transient population and citizen demand for crime control.

“I think if you look at all of factors used to determine staffing levels,” Lovett said, “we would still come up way short.”

Lovett has stressed that whether his department receives more personnel, his officers will continue to make the best with the staffing they have.

Other city options

Acting City Manager Stephanie Cutter is willing to evaluate police staffing levels, but she wants to consider other options, too.

She has instructed all other department heads to consider what role they can play in reducing crime. Property Maintenance, she said, can step up inspection and enforcement to keep vacant properties maintained and secured, which provides fewer places for drug use and other crimes.

The Parks Department can evaluate how well-lit recreational areas and squares are. Similar reviews will happen for after-school and career training programs to see how resources can be shifted.

“It’s not just always pouring money into something,” she said. “You have to step back and assess what you’re doing. You have to look at it broadly. There are so many ways we can look at things to really make a difference.”

Looking to others

Part of the evaluation includes bringing others to the table.

Mayor Edna Jackson wants to bolster mentoring efforts throughout the city and is reaching out to community groups to encourage them to get involved.

Council also has asked for a meeting with juvenile judges, which Jackson asked Alderman Tom Bordeaux to coordinate.

“I think we simply want to add our voice to the chorus that says we have a serious juvenile crime problem,” he said. “We’re fed up, and I hope they are, too.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Savannah City Council meeting

WHEN: Workshop is at 11 a.m. Monday; regular meeting is at 2 p.m.

WHERE: City Hall, 2 E. Bay St.

ON THE WEB: Watch the meeting live on savannahnow.com or follow @LesleyConn on Twitter.

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Fed up with juvenile crime? Well the answer is not to blame or go to the judges locally as their hands are tied by state and federal law. As your article pointed out the current Juvenile Code may soon change making things a lot tougher on judges and citizens alike. If there is a desire to address juvenile crime start with your legislators and the Atlanta area groups that are pushing for the change. Perhaps, charging serious juvenile offenders should go to the superior courts but that will also require a law change- So you are back to our legislators....

It seems to me that if we could invest some money in our school systems, not another drug force, build up character and confidence in these children from the start,we could begin to see a shift. Drugs have always existed and always will. We need to try to provide other resources , so drugs and crime are not the only things these children are exposed to.

"invest some money in our school systems". I don't know about you but I have been doing my part now for over 40 years. 3/4's of all my property taxes go towards the school system. I have given enough this year alone, to feed and uniform a class room of at least thirty of these children for a entire school year. After 40 years of watching my money going towards building mega schools and increases in the school administration salaries, I have not witnessed seeing things getting any better for the children. It is fatuous at best!

My comment was not to invest money in school BUILDINGS,especially high school. I mean to invest in EDUCATION. Our schools are so far behind,compared to other states we have lived in. We would see a change if we could invest in what is going on INSIDE these BUILDINGS!

Monette. Tax payer money never seems to find it's way into the PUBLIC EDUCATION BUILDINGS! That is why I worked two and sometimes three jobs to not only pay my taxes, but to make sure that my children and grandchildren could be educated in the PRIVATE EDUCATION BUILDINGS. I find that by paying more than double the money, at least some of my money makes it to the CHALK BOARD and into their little brains. Go figure that.

A lot of what's going on inside public school buildings is much like what's going on outside: thugs getting away with outrageous behavior because those supposedly in charge are unable or unwilling to impose discipline in any meaningful way. Just like on the outside, repeat offenders stay and stay and stay and continue to cause trouble. More money thrown at schools is not the answer.

There already is a local jurisdiction drug unit in Chatham County and it's called CNT (Counter Narcotics Team). They have a wonderful facility and have been very effective in the past. They answer to the County Commission and evidently this rankles the Savannah Chatham Metro (SCMPD) Chief and the Mayor- even though the present commander of CNT is a SCMPD officer.
So they are going to put more taxes on the citizens to run a "duplicate" drug unit with probably jurisdiction only in Savannah City limits as the other Chatham Municipalities are very pleased with CNT's performance and operation.
I guess now, SCMPD will pull out of CNT and cut their jurisdiction in the city limits. Drug dealers will celebrate this move.
Citizens won't understand they are getting screwed twice - higher taxes and less drug enforcement. And Savannah will just spiral on downward.

Focus on the drug unit is all well and good, but what is sorely needed is police feet on the street. Train your officers in community policing and get them into the high crime areas. New York City has done this with great success. Its crime rate is well below the much smaller cities in the South and has been for years.

The police do need the resources. The bellyaching about spending the money on police resources is foolish. Get them the tools they need and then make sure they use them effectively. It is what necessary to save the City from falling into a cycle of crime and decay that will ruin it for years. Time to do it is now. At least folks in City Hall are talking about it. Now they need to do something.

about spending the money to fund additional police resources. What is a legitimate complaint is that they are now proposing to do this by raising the millage rate. Our millage rate is already plenty high enough to demand that the city and county use our tax money effectively and quit squandering it on say......NFBPA dues???

One law comes to mind which is NEVER ENFORCED is the one for LITTERING. And all you have to do is drive through the City of Savannah and see all the TRASH discarded from the cars and the foot traffic meandering down the streets.

Is it that hard to write a citation for littering which by the way has a $200.00 fine.

What people fail to reconize is that a POLICE DEPARTMENT is a REVENUE GENERATING arm of GOVERNMENT and when the department does not take a look at how the 606 officers cuurently on the force can generate the revenue needed to support 30 additional officers dedicated soley to the DRUG PROBLEM here in SAVANNAH then it is time for NEW LEADERSHIP in the POLICE DEPARTMENT.